Delta offsets 100 retirees payment benefits with N550m

The Delta State Government has disturbed a total of N550million to offset the retirement benefits of one hundred retirees of 2016.The State Head of Service, Reginald Bayoko, told journalists in Asaba while presenting payment schedules to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) for the settlement of 54 retirees, that the payment was made to the retirees in fulfillment of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s electioneering promises for Deltans.

Bayoko assured that Okowa led administration will continue to sustain the monthly release of Funds to the Retirement Savings Account (FRSA), irrespective of economic situations, adding steepest challenge facing the contributing pension scheme informed number of retirees on the waiting list of payment.

“Their pains, anguish, disappointments and forlorn hope have become a strong challenge that must be surmounted if any meaningful gain is to be made out of the scheme in the long run”, the Head of Service added.

Saying that the state government is not aware of the increasing dominance of the pension industry as well as its potentially of becoming a major catalyst for socio-economic growth, Bayoko further disclosed that “at the moment its assets under management is an excess of N5trillion with only about 27 percent of its potentials tapped”.

He appealed to all stakeholders and partners of the pension scheme to map out packages that take current economic challenges into consideration, adding that the state government would leverage on all sincere efforts at deepening the tenets and operations of the scheme with the aim of protecting the interest of its workers.

In her remarks, the state chairman, Bureau of Pension, Chief Christiana Siekpere explained that funds were disbursed to beneficiaries of the scheme on a “first come, first serve” basis, urging retirees to be patient while all processes are being perfected to ensure the prompt payment of their benefits.